When we left you on Friday night, police were still at the Matalon Building on Coney Drive collecting all documents, computers and business records from the office of Titan International Securities - which is on the fourth floor.
As we told you, police swept into their offices at around 1:00pm and barred anyone form coming or going, including Titan's local attorney Andrew Marshalleck.
We saw three police vehicles there, which is a lot for white collar crime - especially when no crime has been committed under Belize laws. But those vehicles were far from sufficient for the monster job of collecting an office-full of documents.
And by 5:30 pm, a cargo truck with government plates had pulled up to collect everything. We had seen this same truck, minus the police at the Roe building called Gordon House earlier in the afternoon. Significant, because that is the headquarters for Unicorn International Securities - another one of the offshore companies named in the US indictment which was unsealed on Tuesday in New York.
But enforcement of that US indictment was carried out in Belize as part of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between this country and the United States. But, it was a big job; the cargo truck wasn't enough and police pickups, had to pull up to carry away some of Titan's records.
After one pickup bed was full - another pulled up, and the purpose of those American flags emblazoned on the front fender became clearer than ever. The police officers from the US funded anti drug unit were doing the heavy lifting nominally for the Financial Intelligence unit, but really for the US Department of Justice. They removed thousands of documents, all of which really have no use to Belizean law enforcement - and will presumably be handed over to the US.
After they filled up all the pickups, they then had to bring an SUV - this one without a US Flag on it - for the remainder of the Titan's possessions.
Another police SUV, this one with a US flag also had to be filled up - using every container possible - up to garbage bins - from the Titan office. In all, it didn't end until just after 9:00pm - eight hours after it started at 1:00 pm. It was a massive operation between police and the Financial Intelligence Unit, involving more than a dozen police officers, and at least six police vehicles. But, an unusual operation because no one was arrested or detained. And the three persons who were in the building and have been named in the US indictment, were free to go, without any limitation on their movement. They are 51 year old Belizean ANDREW GODFREY,34 year old Bahamian KELVIN LEACH and 29 year old Bahamian Rohn Knowles. Leach and Knowles are principals in Titan, while Godfrey also has an office on the fourth floor.
According to a release on Tuesday form the US Department of Justice, they will seek to extradite all three persons to face trial in the United States. But, no extradition procedures have been initiated with Belizean authorities so they are free to move in and out of Belize tonight - but travelling to the US would likely result in an arrest.
That's where US citizen Bob Bandfield is in Federal custody tonight. He was well known in Belize's Offshore Banking circles as a dealmaker. And, according to the FBI, that's just what got him in trouble. According to an official release, quote, "Bandfield and his co-conspirators devised not only a fraudulent scheme but an elaborate corporate structure based on lies and deceit designed to enable U.S. citizens to evade and circumvent our securities and tax laws." End quote.
Presumably, they did all this though Belize where they had a number of offshore banking operations. This is big news in the States, and the website "stocksecrets.com" says that the bust is part of a two year undercover operation by an FBI agent during which the agent, pretending to be a stock promoter, visited Belize to meet with some of the alleged conspirators and set up offshore entities.
The FBI says it also has recording where Bandfield and Godfrey explained a scheme in which they claimed they could launder fifty thousand dollars a month.
And while those are the allegations mede in the states, these companies are duly registered and licensed as offshore service providers in Belize, where they have committed no offence.
And the news is this story is, the lengths Belizean authorities now have to go to in order to carry out enforcement for and on behalf of authorities - even when that enforcement casts a blight on the entire offshore sector in Belize.
US Authorities allege that the accused persons laundered approximately $500 million us dollars for more than 100 U.S. citizens and residents. They face charges in the US of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, tax fraud, and money laundering among many others.
And while we have named only four persons, there are six corporate defendants - all Belize based offshore entities, and six individual defendants, namely, Bandfield, Godfrey, Leach, Knowles along with Brian De Wit and Cam Can, both reportedly Canadians, well-known to operate in Belize, but are believed to have left the country some time ago.
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